In my opinion there are 4 things every girl needs in her wardrobe; a watch, black ankle boots, a smart coat and a leather satchel and theres absolutely no reason to spend a fortune. I find I can wear all of these items with almost everything and anything. The trick to accessorising, when you don't want to buy the same thing 6 times, is to stick to very neutral tones. Or if your anything like me and have a general theme to your wardrobe, pick colours you know will be appropriate for you for a long time. For example some of my accessories are red due to the fact my wardrobe consists mainly of neutral colors and I occasionally like to have a splash of bright colour to contrast the outfit. But for the days when I feel like being quite co ordinated or understated I have my trusty favourite little brown leather bag. The leather bag was from a charity shop in Norwich and my red satchel was from a small boutique in East Dulwich. It's not always about the brands, mix it up a bit and go bargain hunting, particularly if you live in a city, make the most of it. Charity shops are an Aladin's cave of jems.
Speaking of charity shops one of those watches was £150 from Karen Milen, the other was a £20 DIY jobbie from a charity shop. I found this beautiful watch face which was exactly what i'd been looking for, but it had the most hideous plastic strap on it. However it was being sold for £3 in a charity shop in harpenden so I bought it, because let's face it, for three quid you can't go wrong. The next day I went to my local jewelers and bought a genuine brown leather strap for £20 and they fit it to the watch face for me, job done. I tend to save my Karen Milen for more special occasions.
Another thing every girl should splash out on is a half decent coat. I love my Jack Wills coat because it surprisingly goes with basically everything I own and smartens everything up. Even boyfriend jeans and a white T. It just adds a touch of elegance to an otherwise very casual outfit. I got this in the for £75 in the january Jack Wills sale, best time to buy a coat by the way. It has definitely served me well, I wear it almost every day.
Finally I believe black ankle boots are the best purchase I have ever made, shoe wise. I pair them with a line skirts, jeans or dresses. To tell the truth I do own two pairs, the ones pictured are from new look for £20 and the others are my Jones chelsea boots which were on the slightly pricier side at £90 but I have to say a good pair of leather boots will last you a while. For me black ankle boots just complete a look without trying too hard, they can be sophisticated and casual and they go with almost every outfit. I couldn't live without them.
